When Harambee met Umuganda

A new association of Kenyans, Ugandans and Tanzanians living in Rwanda was born last Saturday immediately after Umuganda.It made for a logical culmination after the three East African nations residing (or visiting) in the country joined their Rwandan hosts in the monthly communal service.Jointly organised by the respective national associations in Rwanda, it was the second time the EAC citizens were being enjoined in Umuganda.It was a day full of significance. As one Kenyan enthused, this was the day Harambee finally met Umuganda.The two are conceptual twins, as both Harambee and Umuganda embody ideas of joint effort, mutual assistance and social responsibility, and community self-reliance.The Kenyan might also have added Tanzania’s Ujamaa. Shorn of its political and socialist ideals, it fitted well in the communal notion of Umuganda.Ujamaa is the Kiswahili word for family-hood or the extended family. In the Tanzanian context it was couched in the Bantu notion of being or existence – long popularized by the Xhosa saying, “umuntu ngumuntu ngabantu”— literally meaning a person is, or becomes a person through other people or community. Harambee, on the other hand, is a Kenyan slogan that means “all pull together”, suggesting the same idea of community.Each of the slogans, including the unspoken ones from Uganda, have their histories and national contexts and have been used to rally the people towards embracing their nationhood.But when citizens from the four EAC countries joined in the communal service at Rebero in Kicukiro District, Kigali, it was clear that they have long transcended their nationhoods in embracing their unity as East Africans.The symbolism was heavy in the shared activity of cutting grass and the passing around of the slashing blade between the different nationals.In the span of that day – between the Umuganda and sharing a meal as brethren – a declaration was unanimously passed that an association of Kenyans, Ugandans and Tanzanians in Rwanda be formed bringing together the respective national associations ( i.e., Association of Kenyans Living in Rwanda - AKR; Umoja wa Watanzania Rwanda – UTARWA; Association of Ugandans in Rwanda - AUR, and the Rwanda Tanzania Friendship Association - RWATAFA).This was a testament not only of the unity of the common East African “mwanachi”, but also of the usefulness the national associations have proved of themselves to their nationals.The tireless AKR Chairman, Boniface Mutua, narrates how his association, closely working with the Kenya High Commission, provides a sense of connectedness among its nationals, as well as offering social support during times of crisis when a Kenyan is facing one difficult challenge or another. He speaks for his Ugandan and Tanzanian counterparts.The coming together of the national associations can, therefore, be seen as a formation of a social support network in enlightened community and collective self-interest that adds on the social capital for each of its individual members. This brings to mind the Xhosa saying.It also emphasizes the imperative that it is for the individual that the larger East African Community must exist. Otherwise, the national rallying calls of Harambee, Ujamaa and Umuganda and the East African dream of a functional Community would amount to nothing.While governments in the EAC are still grappling with the hurdles slowing down regional integration, perhaps they should take some comfort in the ease of interaction between their citizens and their collective hope under the new newly born association.Twitter: @gituram